Lucky
by Lore55
Summary: I had never believed in luck, or fate, or destiny. Then a little white rabbit had to cross my dying vision and send me off to a place where luck and skill were what your survival depended upon. All I can do is hope that my reputation as a jinx doesn't carry over with my memories. SI/Reincarnation.
1. Chapter 1

**Lucky**

**Yet another new story. **

**I own nothing. Feedback is welcome. **

* * *

I didn't believe in destiny. Fate, Providence, call it what you would, I thought it was for fools who couldn't stand up for themselves and relied on a higher power that didn't even exist to comfort them instead of facing their problems head on. I still believe this, though less vehemently. I am relatively sure now that there is some force that drove chance into a particular twist, that shifted probability into the favor of some and stole luck from others. More so even than I now can.

Luck back then was a... touchy subject for me. While I would deny that it existed to any that asked I had made a name for myself in school and work places. Jinx. I dropped things, tripped, caused pile ups that shut down entire stair wells. As far as many were concerned I was bad luck, and should be avoided lest it rub off on them. Every year for my birthday someone would slip something to me in what I viewed to be cruel jokes; rabbits foot, four leafed clover, horse shoes, jars of crickets, amethyst worry stones and even a bag of acorns once.

I wasn't the biggest fan of luck. I had a bad center of balance, my nerve control wasn't always the best and I occasionally didn't notice small things, that was all. As far as I was concerned I made my own luck. It never mattered or struck me odd that even without cheating I could always predict which side a coin would land on or that I won poker every time. It was just happenstance, coincidence.

There was no such thing as fate, I was positive.

Now, not so much.

God or Jashin or Thanatos or who ever was in charge of death has one hell of a sense of humor, as I discovered on January 15th, 2014, when a van for Diamond Shamrock Moving Company struck me. I hadn't even been Jay walking!

As I lay on the pavement, blood pooling from a crack in my skull, I could see a little white rabbit standing stock still on the sidewalk, unnoticed by the horrified crowd that stared at my prone form. As darkness crept into my vision, clouding over the edge that little white rabbit turned around and hopped away, fluffy tail twitching behind him. Numbly I reached a hand out to try and catch him, for purposes I do not know.

The world went black and the voices, frantic and terrified, gave way, the sirens, distant and desperate, faded.

Then there was darkness.

And in the darkness I waited.

* * *

I would rather not go through the humiliation and terror that awaited me when those long months of waiting were over, as I am sure that your imagination can come up with what happened between the screaming, blood and bright, blinding, freezing light.

Birth isn't pleasant no matter what side of it you happen to be on.

On October the Tenth I was born in Konoha General Hospital as Keiko Senju, Female, 2.67 kg. daughter of Kaname and Seika Senju, who were 41 and 32 respectively. I was their third and final attempt at a child. I had one older brother, Kohaku, who was small and sickly, and an older sister, Koharu, Kohaku's twin. None of our births had been easy on our mother, leading her to be ill for several months after my birth. Consequently my first few months of life were spent in the strong arms of my father or the smaller grasp of Kohaku. Koharu I don't think liked me much.

Now before I go further I would like to say this;

If ever you are reborn, take a lot of time to observe. When you first find the light of day you will not see more than small blurs of color, nor will you be able to pick up very many sounds. Do not worry, this is quite normal, as humans are all born prematurely. If we don't get kicked out after nine months is up though it will put so much strain on the mother that she and child will die, so premature it is.

Listen carefully, figure out the language. In my case it happened to be Japanese of all things. It was difficult for me to understand, given that I was in fact very much an American. Or was. It's all relative.

Soon enough you will begin to pick up words. One you will notice will be said with more force, higher pitch, and more often than others. It may even be pronounced strangely.

_Keiko. Keiko-chan. Imouto._

Fear not. This is your name. Hold it close and do not forget that you are no longer who you once were. You have a new life, a new name, and another chance.  
You might have siblings, like I did, they will pronounce their name very slowly and try to get you to say it back at them.

_Kohaku. Ko-ha-ku. Anata wa sore o iu koto wa dekimasu ka, Imouto? Can you say that, little sister?_

There is a family competition to see whose name you speak first.

_Mama, Papa, Kohaku, Koharu. Chichi, Haha, Aniki, Ane._

Who ever you say first automatically is your favorite, whether this is true or not.

_Koharu._

They will then have you thrust upon them for baby sitting or be the envy of the others, who you should do your best to speak of as soon after as you can.

_Kohaku. Chichi. Haha._

By the time you can talk you should be able to see as well. Take a look around, see what's happening, where you are, look for context clues.

_There were trees. The walls were paper. Chichi, father, has white hair and black eyes. There are strange markings on all of the walls, a thin line and crescents coming off both ends. The house is huge, stretching out for whole blocks. We five are the only ones there. Chichi carries a sword around. There is very limited technology. The air is warm, the sun shines often. Koharu and Kohaku go to a school called the Academy all year round. I am not allowed outside on my own._

Take note of these context clues. Do not dismiss them.

_Chichi has an odd headband he wears often. It has the lead symbol on it. He must be a cosplayer. On occasion I sit on his lap and I'll smell copper. He won't let me in the room down the hall. I get in once and it's full of sharp things. Chichi isn't happy._

The first year is the most important. Gather all the information that you can.

_They tried to teach me funny hand games. I paid little attention, wandering around instead and looking at the pictures on the walls._

Do not make assumptions. Wait until you have access to a library or the internet to decide where and when you are.

_This was japan, I must live with a very old family in the sixties. Funny, their clothes are a little closer to 2000s._

And above all else, when the truth finally hits you, do not panic.

_Happy birthday to your, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Keiko- The world exploded. People screamed. I was slammed to the ground by a sudden increase in gravity. Dark, oppressing terror choked me and I did the only thing that I could. I screamed._

Stay calm.

_Kohaku grabbed me and ran, Koharu's hand in his. They were both like mother, I noted through the din or horror that tried to consume me. Brown hair and eyes on both, pretty lips and sharp cheeks. Was I like them? Was I pretty? They told me so. Did the giant fox over the walls think I was?_

Do not freak out.

_Giant fox. Giant fox with nine tails. Ninetails. Kyuubi. Chichi smelled like blood, the walls were marked, the twins went to the Academy, there was a room of weapons I wasn't allowed in._

It will be alright.

_It is October 10th. The day of the attack on the hidden lead village. Konohagakure._

It will be-

_I am not where I am supposed to be. An explosion rocks the world and I scream in Kohaku's arms, the wrongness of everything slams into me all at once and the horrible, awful oppression of the intent to kill, to slaughter, strikes me from the giant fox. Kohaku jumps off the ground, clutching me tight. Chichi and Haha are nowhere to be seen. Debris comes flying at us from all around. The beam of a shattered house is falling towards us from above. I stretched out my hand as if to catch it, knowing my brother too slow and not focused enough to see the threat. There is a flicker of violet at the edges of my fingers. He trips. I go flying and the beam strikes the earth. There is a sickening crunch._

alright.

* * *

As of now people know me as Keiko Senju, and I am the last of my name.

* * *

"Quite the hand you dealt that one. Are you sure she can handle it?"

There was a scoff. "She'll have to."

"We'll see if her luck holds up."

* * *

_ The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I would be honest. - Rodney Dangerfield  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two. I own nothing. **

**Reviews; Yoran'sArts: Really? I hadn't actually noticed that. Interesting is right!**

**the Hate Child: Thank you, I do my best!**

"She can't be gone."

"Well then where is she?"

"I don't know, she was here a second ago!"

"If we lost her we are in so much trouble."

Maybe it was cruel, maybe it was mean of me to play jokes on my care takers but I couldn't help it. It was too easy.

For three years I had been under the constant watch of alternating teams of genin, as I was apparently not allowed in an orphanage or to be adopted by someone else. I could only assume that it was because of my status as a Clan Kid, which seemed to mean that I was very different from other children. Had I been born to a clan with more members then I would have been passed off onto them. Had my godmother or godfather been in town or not dead I would have gone to them. However both of these things were the case that they were, and so I was placed in the care of the dutiful genin. Where the money for all of these missions came from it worried me to think.

What worried me less was vanishing from their sight or purposefully making their lives harder.

There were some, those that were nice and treated me well that I did the same for. Kosuke Maruboshi was one such person. Others I panicked and made trouble for. One of those teams was lead by Morino Ibiki, and consisted of Izumo Kamizuki , Kotetsu Hagane, and Iruka Umino. I liked them well enough, make no mistake, and I minded them without too much trouble.

When they could find me.

Even after a full year of baby-sitting duty they had yet to understand that you don't ever let the kid out of your sight. To do so would be foolish.

My favorite team was made up of fools, it seemed.

I wasn't even that well hidden. All I had to do was sit behind one of the many potted plants that marked the corners of my house, rucked into the crook of the house and watch the boys panic over my latest disappearing act. It didn't help that this was the first time Ibiki had trusted them with me alone.

It was a struggle not to laugh at their expense. It would have been so easy to do so, they might not even hear me. The trio split up into groups and I pushed further against the wall, smiling to myself. The smile disappeared when Kotetsu turned towards me. I sucked in a breath and tensed, preparing to flee if he caught sight of me.

_If only he would trip._

His face smacked against the ground. Unable to help it I laughed, clapping my small hands over my mouth. All attention snaps to me and in an instant I'm running, socks slipping on the polished wood (also the work of the ever dedicated genin teams) as I try to get away. I know what will happen if they catch me.

They catch me without further trouble and I spend the rest of day tied to a chair, calling them the most creatively childish insults I can. They seem caught between being annoyed and amused. All the while things keep happening that push them towards their boiling points. Tripping over nothing, slamming their shins into side tables, having all the spices in a cabinet fall on top of their heads. By the time they leave they're dirty, tired, and more than happy to hand me over to the set that will make sure I get to bed on time and spend the rest of the night doing things that no responsible baby sitter ever would.

It was how the days went.

Normally I didn't mind, but watching the three boys walk off, chattering and shoving each other while Ibiki watched on, a mother hen even if he wouldn't admit it, I felt isolated.

Bitter.

Alone.

_I wish they wouldn't be so close. _

The branch of a tree fell and the four of them jumped apart to avoid being hit.

* * *

It wasn't often that I got to go anywhere outside my house. It was big enough that I could explore it for years and never know every one of the hidden passages or be able to map out each room. There were many gardens, most of which had fallen into disarray. The genin teams that cleaned only ever did my main house, leaving everything else to fall apart. The seals kept things mostly intact.

So while my house, with its wild green gardens and dark hidden halls, was fun, it was not nearly as much fun as going out into the world and seeing things.

It was Kosuke, the Eternal Genin, who took me out that day, his large, wrinkled hand holding mine as I all but dragged him towards the direction I _knew_ the park to be in.

Ten minutes into out walk he told me we'd been going the exact wrong direction.

Face bright red I marched us in the right place the next time.

The old man took it all in stride, content, it seemed, to follow after me.

The park was just as one might expect it to be, covered in bright green grass and surrounded by tall oak trees my great-uncle had probably helped to plant. On the hill there stood a play set, equipped with swings, monkey bars and jungle gym. I looked around rapidly, drinking in the sight of the children that ran and played with each other. Parents watched on with only mild interest from the sidelines, parents or guardians. There were a few ninja among them that I knew, chatting with their civilian companions. It was a group of them the Kosuke left me to go join, shooing me off to try and make friends.

'Try' being the key word. I made quite the impression when my first act of attempted friendship ended with my face being acquainted with a ball and my butt getting to know the ground. I sat on the ground, stunned by the sudden impact. The ball bounced away, striking a rock that was apparently very sharp and popping.

"Hey!" One of the boys that had been playing with the ball cried, "That was mine! You broke it!"

I shook my head rapidly, eyes growing wide. "No, it wasn't my fault! It just happened!"

"You didn't catch it, and it hit the rock off of you, so it's your fault," the child reasoned.

"It is not!" I shouted back at him.

He shoved me and I pushed back. He tripped over a root, yelping as his ankle twisted. I stood above him, staring down with wide eyes as he started shaking and broke into a wail.

"Takeshi!" the shout came from the parents and I scrambled away before she could get there, not wanting to get yelled at.

It wasn't my fault.

_It wasn't my fault. _

_It was just bad luck. _

* * *

Later on, when I got back to my home, I left Kosuke outside and slunk back to my bedroom, laying down and curling up under the mattress. All I could think of was the scene I had left behind me, of a woman cradling her son, shushing him and promising to make everything better, trying to get him to stop crying.

Words of my mother, the one from before the car, came back to me as the ache in my chest constricted. _Pain, pain go away. We don't want you, let us play. _

It didn't.

I curled up into a ball, darkness pressing in on me.

* * *

I didn't leave my house for a very long time after that, staying around in a fog of unhappiness despite whatever the genin in charge of me said. Iruka, Izumo and Kotetsu all graduated to chunin by the end of the year, Ibiki went back to T&amp;I and when I learned that they would no longer come to see me I felt a strange sense of betrayal.

It was stupid. They were only watching me because it was their job, not because they cared. Kosuke was probably the same way, entertaining a child who couldn't understand that she was bringing them trouble and stress.

It hurt to know.

After Team Ibiki disbanded I stopped playing with my care takers, and eventually they stopped coming.

I was alone again.

* * *

"_When other girls were dreaming about love, she dreamt of love too, but in an entirely different context - the ones they took for granted."― Donna Lynn Hope_


	3. Chapter 3

Academy days were nothing worth mentioning.

School was school, it was all the same no matter where you go or who you are school is still school and children are still children and children are cruel.

The teachers didn't care.

They needed us tough to be warriors, to be good little soldiers that who obey orders and wouldn't crack under pressure or teasing.

I tried to be like that. In fact I succeeded, if only because people were so afraid of my jinxing them that almost no one ever approached.

I was growing to hate this life, which seemed to similar to my last one.

My only comfort was in the little white rabbit that was almost always twitching his nose at the edge of my vision.

His name was Peter.

He came and went as he chose, often enough he would come close enough that I could pick him up and stroke his soft fur, hold onto him when the empty echo of the house got too much to bare.

He was the only friend I had.

No others would bother to approach, either because they thought me arrogant for my name or did not wish the bad luck that trailed behind me to follow them as well.

Strangely enough the happenings never happened to me, only around me, and it took me far longer than I would like to admit to figure out that the static of green that touched my finger-tips before my 'wishes' came true was a manifestation of what I was doing. That is to say, jinxing someone, or hexing them. The scientific term I decided to use was Probability Control and Manipulation. The actual word for it is Tychokinesis, but the other one is easier to remember and requires less explanation. Not that I ever explained it to anyone.

It wasn't like there was anyone to tell.

I practiced with it, quite a bit in fact. I wanted to know my limits. I was expected to be a ninja, and I would be, simply put. The only factor I had a choice in was how good of one I was going to be.

Seeing as I had no intention of dying for a second time I came to the conclusion that I would use everything I had to give me an edge.

Which was why I spent so much time watching other people and making them trip, or making them not when they surely would.

I learned my limits. I could cast near limitless small hexes (stumble over a branch, slip into the water, explode a soda can), roughly ten medium sized hexes (the trees falls over, the blackboard falls down, a power line breaks) in that same amount of time, and two big hexes (a rock slide, or a bad storm) in a single week. After that my power was tapped out for another three or four days.

I could do a lot too. 'Probability Control' is an accurate term. I could choose which side a dice would roll on, by twitching the probability of it landing on six from a measly 16.6 % to a whole 83.3 %. Similarly something that would have virtually a 0% chance of happening, like, say, the spontaneous rusting of bolts holding up a swing set, would then become just a few billionths shy of 100%. So in other words, it was going to happen. The concept of 50/50 was a royal pain but tolerable. I could not control which side of a coin would land but I could predict which one would happen.

All of this happened by using my energy, which I am relatively sure is not chakra, at least not the kind that ninja used, to create a finite quantity of reality disrupting quasi-psionic force, which took the form of flickering green light. If one looked carefully they could see the sparks leave me for my targets and cause a disruption at the molecular level probability field of the target, causing the unlikely phenomenon of my choosing to happen.

It was during one of my days of experimenting and ducking out of gym class that I made the first friend of my life.

* * *

"That boy?"

Two pairs of eyes were drawn to the speaker, a young man of spiked black hair and near glowing red eyes. His fur trimmed cloak, equally wild and dark as his mane, rustled as he shifted his posture to lean back on the wall behind him, shadows obscuring most of his face once he was out of the immediate light of the glowing pool.

"It is her choice," reminded one of the companions, brilliant red hair falling straight past his shoulders. Ringed eyes remained on the mirror that was balanced on circular table.

"Perhaps she has an affinity for the underdogs," their last member commented, speaking around jagged teeth. Wild white hair fell long past his cloaked body and dark sclera surrounded yellow eyes.

"I would not be surprised," The red haired man admitted, pulling idly at the sleeve of his green robes.

"At least she figured out how to use those powers," commented the first broadly.

"You had better hope that she succeeds in her task," the third commented.

There was a scoff from the dark haired youth. "You think I don't know that? I don't see why we didn't just get my brat to do it. He'd capable. Or will be, at least."

"Yes, but your brat does not have the heart needed for this undertaking."

"And you think the depressed dead girl does?"

Gold eyes met black and violet and deep voice came out, almost defensive. "You would be surprised what the dead can do."

There was an uneasy silence before the first spoke again.

"I hope you're right. Or we're all fucked."

* * *

"Hidan, what on earth are you doing now?"

Bright violet eyes darted up and the six year old bared his teeth in a smile at the monk before him.

"Practicin'" he explained, pointing to the ground below his feet. Indeed he had been, and under his short limbs the ten year old had managed to craft a wobbly circle and shaky lines across it.

The monk observed his work, head tilted ever so slightly to the side.

"You know what you've done wrong with this?" he questioned.

"It's fuckin squiggly," the younger male stated bluntly.

There was a nod. "Try again, and don't be late for lunch. Your Lord Jashin does not mind tardiness so long as a task is completely but I do like to keep some semblance of a schedule around here."

The bald man turned around and headed back inside with the other children, leaving the genin on his own again. He didn't mind, it was easier without the old man breathing down his neck. Especially now that he could feel the shift in his gods power.

Something was going on.

The smile turned predatory.

* * *

Rock Lee could only stare in wonder as his classmates, who had all been shouting discouragements at him mere moments ago were now sprinting for the school house, crying became, for some unfathomable reason, all of their clothing had unraveled at once. All, that is, except for Keiko Senju.

The girl now stood in front of, or technically behind him, on the running track, fingering a long strand of silver hair that spiked at the ends. She was in his class, in fact he sat in the same desk as he, though they were on opposite sides of Renji, the boy who sat in the middle desk. They had never actually spoken before, though Lee had heard the rumors about her presence being cursed.

"You just gonna stand there or keep running?" she asked, shifting from foot to foot under his gaze. Dark green eyes slid away from his and Lee nodded slowly, stunned out of his normal energetic nature.

It didn't last for more than a few seconds.

"Why do you not run with me?" he asked, more of an offer than a question.

The girl, the only one of the prestigious Senju Clan remaining, lifted her small shoulders in a shrug. "I don't really like to run. I do other stuff," she explained, giving a vague wave to the piles of thread on the ground.

Lee's eyes widened past even their normal comical size. "That was you!"

Her smile was sheepish.

"I thought they were mean, so I was mean back," she explained. Then took a step away, looking over his shoulder. Lee followed her gaze, finding their teacher storming over to the two clothed children. Lee noticed a spark of green appear at his feet before the man fell flat on his face. A hand touched hers and Lee spun around to find Keiko now much closer, eyes wide with something between excitement and fear.

"Do you still want to run?"

Against his moral judgement, Rock Lee grabbed the girls hand in his and turned his back on the teacher, letting the girl lead him on a sprint through the trees.

* * *

_"Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone's hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours." ― Vera Nazarian_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 is up!**

**Reviews; **

**the Hate Child: That's actually what they're based off of. Good eye!**

**Littlebirdd: Yup! Lee deserves more love, so I decided to give him some here. **

**amgs: Thank you, I hope that it turns out well! Hidan will be important to the story, not right this very second but as it goes on he will play a bit role. **

**Violetey: Thank you!**

* * *

The day he met Keiko was the first and last day that Lee went to detention. Keiko, he found, was something of a troublemaker, and took whatever chance she had to cause something unfortunate to befall those who were cruel or unkind. Especially to Lee.

By the end of the month people were too busy avoiding the girl, who now stuck like a bur to his side, to bother teasing him about his deformed chakra coils. Keiko stayed by at most times, talking to him or simply being there. He didn't mind. She was good company, and eventually she joined him on his runs, and even offered to spar with him.

She was not bad, in fact she was very good, though when they were not in the academy she used a style that he could not recognize.

She explained to him once that it was her family's personal form, which she was learning from the scrolls that had been left behind. He had nodded his understanding and they had gone back to the exchange of blows.

With the laziness of a summer cloud the days in the Academy rolled by.

* * *

Once I had a friend things were better. I wasn't alone anymore. I worried sometimes that Lee might grow annoyed with me for staying so close, irritated with my clinging, but he never did, something for which I was grateful.

I still practiced my power, which would be dubbed a kekkei genkai should anyone else ask what it was or how I did it. That was usually a good enough explanation for the unexplained.

No one ever asked, though I was scolded quite a few times by various instructors.

It didn't really matter, once I had a friend. We were actually very unlike each other.

Lee was determined to work hard and become a great ninja, specializing only in Taijutsu and using his voice to tell all who tried to disagree with him that it was possible.

I was, in all honesty, lazy. I didn't like working out, I didn't want to be a ninja, and my hand to hand skills were, to be frank, abysmal. I stayed quiet, practicing more on ninjutsu and genjutsu. I was pretty sure that when it came down to it I would be specializing in the latter, working it in tangent with my hexes and perhaps spreading my knowledge on to ambush. Something like that. Weapons would also be deadly in my hands. I could be aiming at a tree and throw the knife behind my back and somehow it would work.

My teachers hated it. Classmates too.

I was totally cheating.

It didn't really matter though, not to me. I was happy enough to stay quiet and under the radar, but sometimes it was hard to purposefully do something badly when you could have done it wonderfully without really trying.

With speed befitting a butterfly the years passed by.

* * *

Summer breaks were spend between the two children, playing in the girl's compound, exploring and practicing their respective crafts. Birthdays went by with gifts exchanged. Grades were handed back, both equally bad in what the other excelled at.

They stuck by each other, very close. When Keiko visited her family's graves Lee was by her side. When Lee was being crushed under the weight of being unable to mold his chakra she was reminding him that he was still the best at taijutsu in their entire class.

When Lee's father was killed in battle Keiko was at the funeral, standing on one side of the boy while his mother stayed tall on the other.

When Lee failed his first attempt at the exam Keiko, who had not taken it, dragged him through the village until he forgot about it, and helped him train for the next.

Faster than either thought was possible it have been seven years, side by side.

And graduation was at last within their grasp.

All through this three gods watched on, one with eyes on another boy five years their senior.

All through the years the barriers solidified. The world was tilting.

* * *

I don't know how Lee graduated, but he managed it. I was relatively sure that the Hokage had pushed him through, after he had given a rousing speech on work ethic and Lee was the only one to declare that he would work harder than anyone before.

My best friend was weird like that.

He also hed very soft hair, a feature that I took advantage of while our teacher, Motomiya-sensei, was reading off the list of teams. I was unconcerned. I had already accepted that I would have to settle for only seeing Lee when he wasn't training instead of everyday, like usual. It would be fine, it wasn't like neither of us would ever have free time.

I tuned back in when I heard my name.

"Keiko Senju, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuuga, team 4."

I stopped moving, my fingers midway through braiding Lee's long hair. I stared slack jawed at the woman in the front of the room, not quite believing what I had heard. Was that even possible? What the hell? I was on Team Gai?

But that was supposed to be Tenten.

I frowned, scanning the room for her. She was in the corner, talking to another boy from our class and showing him something with her wrist that I didn't quite get. Tenten had been one of my favorites, I didn't want to replace her!

But Lee was smiling, his eyes filled with light as he cheered that we would be on the same team.

I couldn't find it in me to feel as guilt as I'm sure I should.

* * *

Gai instructed his team to meet on the roof, in a little gazebo attached to the building that the Academy split with the Hokage Administrative office. He watched in anticipation as his first ever genin team walked out into the sun, hands on his hips and smiling brightly.

The three were looking at him in the same way many did upon first making his acquaintance. That was fine, they would soon learn to appreciate his vigor and youth.

His team was a mismatched one, he noted.

Neji Hyuuga fit his family name to a T, pale eyes and long brown hair marking him as much a member of that clan as anything else. A tan shirt and darker shorts made up most of his outfit, as well as his head band and weapons pouches.

Rock Lee, who was not from a large clan, only a single shinobi parent, stepped out after the prodigy. Dark hair curled up where it hadn't been braided back, framing his face and head band. A loose shirt hung open, slack pants stopping shy of traditional ninja sandals. He too wore the standard pouches.

The last to walk out was the only girl, Keiko Senju. White hair was held out of her face by a clip, marked with the kanji for 'luck', the rest toughing her shoulders. A green jacket trimmed with black fur paired with black ninja pants. Like the boys she carried only the standard weapons.

"Welcome students!" he boomed, causing two to jump while Neji narrowed his eyes. "I am your teacher from this day forth, Konoha's Beautiful Blue Beast, Might Gai!"

* * *

I knew from the second I stepped into the balcony things were about to get weird.

I was very, very right.

* * *

_Diligence is the mother of good luck. – Benjamin Franklin. _


	5. Chapter 5

**ShugoYuuki123: Thank you!**

**the Hate Child: Thank you very much. **

**shanagi95: I think you're right, whoops! This is the first time I've seen it be Tenten too.**

* * *

"Okay. Let's hear your names and what you strive for," Gai decided, hands propped on his hips as he stood in front of us.

Neji, who was sitting to my right, gave a very simple answer. "I am Neji Hyuuga, and I do not wish to answer."

I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms. I lowered my chin into the fur of my jacket, taking comfort in the familiar softness. Faux rabbit fur. On the edge of the roof Peter appeared, nibbling some grass that grew out of the roof. Our town was weird like that.

Lee's hand shot into the air, as straight as his back. "Sensei, I am Rock Lee, and I want to prove that I can become a great ninja, even if I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. It means everything to me!"

To my side Neji scoffed, prompting Lee to fly from his seat and point dramatically. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Being unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu already disqualifies you from being a ninja," Neji stated coldly. My jaw clenched and I nearly clocked him. Luckily Gai cut in.

"You're wrong. If your blood is boiling, is doesn't have to be that way," he assured us, winking. I twitched. It was nice of him to say, but it was still a little creepy. Both of the boys looked at him, Lee with more surprise than Neji. "If you are young and have a good rival to compete with and improve each other, you can become a great ninja for sure. You'll need to put in a lot of effort though."

He gave Lee a thumbs up and my best friend cheered a 'yes!'. I shook my head fondly until I was addressed.

"And you?"

I looked up at Gai, forgetting for a moment that I was being included here. I shifted slightly.

"I'm Keiko Senju. What I strive for… I wish prove that I can do great things, that I'm not bad luck, or a jinx," I declared, chin lifting out of my collar.

The man gave a laugh tilting his head back. "What excellent goals from my students. Okay, meet me tomorrow at Training Ground 3 as O' 600. There we'll test your skills and determine how brightly the springtime of youth burn in you!"

Lee cheered, Neji gave him a disgusted look and I pushed myself back into the dark fur.

* * *

"Alright students!" Gai's voice threatened my ears, "Today we find out if you are truly prepared to join the proud ranks of Konoha Shinobi! Today we have you real genin test. If you pass you will stay on and learn all that I can teach you. If you fail, you will be sent back to the Academy."

I could see the horror on Lee's face and the disbelief on Neji's.

"After we run 100 laps around the grounds."

My expression joined theirs.

* * *

After I had recovered from the crazy exercise Gai put us through the three of us stood in front of him, under the full force of his beaming smile. I don't know why he was so impressed.

I stopped being able to breath during the run while Lee and Neji sprinted off. The jerks.

I had shed my jacket some time ago, leaving me in a white spaghetti strap so I didn't die of over heating. I felt bare and exposed without my fur, making me squirm under the imagined eyes around us.

"What is our test?" Neji demanded shortly.

"Your test, my dear students, is to fight me!"

* * *

"Come on, how do you expect to make genin with moves like that?" Gai challenged, blocking Lee's every attempt with a foot a few inches from his face. Lee back away, letting Neji run in. His strikes our teacher were blocked with his hands. Neji danced away, leaving just me.

I ran in, throwing in kicks and punches. Taijutsu was my worst subject, contrary to both of the boys. To make of for it I started pushing Gai to stumble. I knew he noticed the green glow in my eyes, how could a jonin not? Jonin was the key word. He recovered from everything I threw at him faster than I could think past my usual 'trip damn you!'s. It was infuriating, which only made it that much harder to come up with something new.

He wasn't hitting us, for which I was grateful. He was well known to be one of the strongest ninja in the village just by his regular muscles, so his tactic of blocking and deflecting out blows was a merciful one.

I back away at last, landing on his far right. Neji was to the middle, with Lee across from me. I was breathing heavily, we all were.

"How will you be true shinobi if you don't apply yourself? Let me see how brightly your youth burns!"

His demand, foolish, crazy, stupid, lit a fire.

I didn't want this life. It wasn't one that I had chosen. The occupation I wanted so much to remove myself from was one that my best friend had worked his ass off to have a chance at. I would not be the reason he lost the chance. I absolutely refused to let that happen.

Options flew through my mind, one after another being thrown away. I didn't have the delicate control over big things to use them with other people not right next to me and have them be safe. So all I could do was line myself up with the boys.

In a moment of sync that I had thought beyond us we lunged as one, cries of determination tearing from our throats. We wouldn't back down, we all decided. We would pass this test.

* * *

"What were you doing earlier?"

I looked up from where I was scratching down in a journal I had begun to keep (old family tradition) to find Neji standing above the table I was at. The restaurant moved around us in its ever busy bustle, dishes clanking in the kitchen while patrons chattered outside.

I set my pen down on the paper, tugging the sleeve of my jacket down lower.

"Excuse me?"

"When we were taking that test you were doing something. You made Gai-sensei trip, multiple times. How?" the boy demanded, still looming above me.

I pressed my lips into a line, not at all appreciating his tone. I suppose he had a right to know, being my new teammate and all.

I didn't like Neji though, so I didn't feel like actually explaining.

So I gave him the explanation that everyone else took.

"I'm bad luck."

* * *

_Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson_


	6. Chapter 6

**Guest from Feb. 28****th****: Thank you for the review! I'm glad that you like it**.

* * *

"That's a flower Lee. Neji, watch your feet before you kill the petunia," I muttered absently, digging more dandelions out of the ground. You had to get the roots or they would grow out. One other things that I had had to interject, repeatedly, between the boys bickering. It was giving me a head ache, honestly. They couldn't seem to comprehend what I was saying, either one of them. Lee was usually very good about listening to me even when I was very quiet. Neji didn't really listen to anyone, but with his eyes he should have been better at gardening.

Really, it would have been easier if I just did it all myself.

Sadly, Gai was watching, going on about the importance of teamwork in preserving your flames of youth.

For once I was looking forwards to the solace of my empty house.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be empty when I got there.

* * *

Naruto had no idea how it had happened.

He'd just been trying to get away from some of the older kids that had decided to test out their new kunai on a moving target that had once been a dog but had morphed to him after he'd called them out on their crap. He had run down one of the abandoned streets of the village, racing away from the bigger kids. He was surrounded by high white walls and steeply risen roofs. No one was around, he couldn't hear another person talking or dogs barking or anything. Seeing a way out Naruto jumped, catching on the shingles and shimmying up, yelping when one of the older boys took a swipe at his leg. A thin slice went through his lower leg, encouraging him to speed up his rush to get away. Two of the others followed him, tackling him over the wall while another shouted for them to stop. Something about trees.

Naruto understood the warning when he dropped over the other side of the wall and felt something painful lash out to grab his ankle. He thrashed but was cut short by two more somethings wrapping around his other ankle and arms. He was caught.

By a tree.

Wide blue eyes stared around at the foliage, watching it latch onto his attackers and hold them high above the ground the same was he was being. He squirmed as more trees branched –tree branches!- coiled around him, keeping him from getting away. Off to the side one of the older boys had started crying.

Naruto felt tears well in his own blue eyes. This was just a crummy day. And no one was going to cut him down. He was going to be eaten by a tree!

* * *

When I walked into my home I was assaulted by screaming children. Or rather, the screaming of children. This, of course, prompted an investigation into what had caused the screaming in the first place.

I wasn't wrong, it was children. A bunch of boy a years or so older than me and one a year younger and much, much smaller. The only reason I knew he was a year younger was because I knew him. Not that everyone else in the village didn't. I just knew him a little bit better, considering that, in twelve years, I had somehow never run into him. It was an impressive feat actually.

All of them were strung up by the trees that my great uncle had put up to ensure the safety of our clan's compound. Each tree had been grown with the instructions to protect the Senju, stop any intruders who got past the regular guards. They did their job well, as seen right then. Since I hadn't given them the clear they would keep the people there until the end of time.

Really, the kids never stood a chance.

"Okay…" I murmured, looking up at the panicked, sobbing children. There was only one thing to do.

Drop them in the koi pond.

The boys came up sputtering and choking when the trees obediently let them go into the water, much to agitation of my dear fish.

I sat at the edge of the pond, pushing enough power to the surface of my skin to set a glow to my eye. "You shouldn't trespass on the Senju grounds," I intoned, throwing my voice to sound as creepy as I could. This place, my home, was the only place I was comfortable doing something like that.

The older boys were clearly ninja, if the fact that they scrambled onto the water and ran screaming was any indication.

The only one left was the little blond kid, who was staring at me in so much shock I thought he was going to forget to tread water. I blinked the green back to normal. I knew this kid. The entire town did.

Uzumaki Naruto stared wide eyed at me from where he was had realized he could stand up.

I stared back.

For all we had gone to the same school for years I'd never said two words to the boy. He was a health hazard, in every way possible.

"You're going to catch cold if you stay there," I told him, startling the boy.

He watched me for a second more before pointing at me dramatically, "Who the hell are you?"

I stared at him blankly. "The owner of this house. Why are you here? No one would let you in."

He winced away from him but it was gone before I could really see it. "What is that supposed to mean?!" he shrieked.

I pulled away from the loud voice, pulling further into my jacket collar. "Don't shout. I meant, everyone else is dead. I'm the only one here."

The certainly sobered things up.

"Anyway, like I said, you're going to get sick if you don't dry off. Go home kid, your parents will be missing you," I told him, pushing myself up and brushing off the back of my pants.

"I don't have any parents," Naruto snapped at me.

This time I took no offense, instead telling him plainly, "Neither do I."

Awkward silence descended.

"Look," I started again, finding the blades of grass under my feet much more interesting than the eyes of the jinchuriki, "Why don't you come in and dry off. There's clothes somewhere that'll fit you."

"Why?" the suspicion in his voice had me cringing. That that was the kid's first reaction was sad.

"I'unno. I don't want you getting sick. It's been a while since I've had company. You're still here when you could have run off with your friends-"

"They aren't my friends-"

"Take your pick."

The blond pursed his lips, only to yelp when a fish jumped out and slapped him in the face.

* * *

Twenty minutes found us back in my home, with Naruto wearing clothes that had once belonged to my older brother, scarfing down whatever food I put in front of him and chatting up a storm.

I held back a sigh, more good natured than anything else.

My life just kept getting more interesting.

* * *

_If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees. - Hal Borland_


	7. Chapter 7

**123paco: I have no idea why, it never made a lot of sense to me. I just know that that's how it went. Thank you soo much for reading my things, I'm going to do my best with Hidan. **

**amgs: Thank you. Trees as protectors came about with too much re-watching of Guardians of the Galaxy. **

**hentai18ancilla: Nope, no way.**

* * *

It wasn't my idea in the beginning, but the minute Naruto reminded me that Iruka was his teacher I started picking him up from the Academy. We got mixed reactions after that.

So long as I, the last of the great Senju line, remained at his side no one would spit hate at him or forcibly remove him from anywhere.

So long as he, village pariah and jinchuriki, walked with me I got overpriced product, weary looks and lots of space.

Not that that did anything. I had more money than I knew what to do with an entire district that was all under my name alone. Once he was inside my home he was safe from everyone. And, apparently, in heaven.

The boy loved plants more than anything, even his precious ramen. He had a pet plant he kept in his apartment but my gardens, over grown and choking, and my trees, protective and non judgmental, put him at ease in ways that I never imagined they could. For me the place was a reminder of isolation, for him it was a haven where he could tend to green things, chatter on as much as he wanted and always have me around for company.

I didn't mind him goofing off now and then, as long as he listened when I taught him how not to be rude or hurt anything in my house.

There were times when I didn't think he was going to leave and I would have to role a futon out or put him up in an abandoned room. He always left though, always departed before the sun set.

It hurt, sometimes, watching his back disappear down the road and having to back to the huge, empty place that was supposed to be my home. There were occasions when I feared that my new companion would disappear and never come back to me again.

I wanted him to stay the same way I wanted Lee to stay sometimes. Even Neji, when things got dark and I felt truly, utterly alone, would have done.

Maybe I was selfish.

I had friends, I had a teacher who would listen to me if I talked to him.

Shouldn't that be enough?

* * *

Thunder rolled, lightning flashed. Water pounded angrily against the roof of the house, striking harshly in what was no doubt becoming an attack of hail. Naruto tugged on his shoe again, looking at the door. It sounded bad.

"I don't want you going out there," Keiko repeated for what had to be the forth time. The little blond looked up at her, frowning. He was always over here, hiding. He didn't want to overstay his welcome, no matter what his older friend said.

"I'll be fine," he promised, giving her his award winning smile.

Her frown made the light dim from his teeth.

"I will," he insisted, shifting on his feet, "It's just some water, Kei."

Giving him a flat look with her weird green eyes, darker than Sakura's but lighter than grass, Keiko pushed the door aside to reveal that he was right. Hail was beating against the grass, threatening the koi until the trees stretched their branches across, guarding the fish the way they guarded everything else.

A hand touched his forearm.

"Go borrow some of Kohaku's pajamas. You can leave in the morning," she said firmly, snapping the door shut before ushering Naruto back to the inner area of the house.

This time he followed, looking back at the door one last time before he padded off after Keiko.

* * *

It was still raining the next day when there came a loud knocking on the door. Naruto looked up from where he'd been eating breakfast. I had refused to give him Ramen, instead offering natto, fried eggs, and pork with ginger. I left behind my ozone and iyokan to pull the door open, peering out at the visitor.

Curiously, or perhaps not it was a pair of dripping wet, spandex clad boys accompanied by Neji the Drowned Cat.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, utterly bewildered. "It's raining cats a dogs."

"We're training," Neji told me dryly.

I stared at him in disbelief. "But, rain!"

"Rain cannot stop us!" both Neji and I cringed from Gai's voice, "To admit defeat so easily would be to allow the water to extinguish the flames of youth that burn within you!"

"…I have a guest. It would be even more unyouthful to abandon them, wouldn't it?"

I watched his face fall into one of conflict. Neji was giving me a dirty look and Lee was looking somewhat confused.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I declared, going to close the door.

A foot stuck in my way.

I looked down at the offending sandle before looking up at Gai.

"Can I help you, sensei?" I asked.

He gave me a shining grin. "We too shall keep you company. As a team we must get to know each other more!"

I stared up at him before shooting a glance back at where the kitchen opening was, finding Naruto standing there in my brothers old clothes. He looked so nervous I wanted to go over and hug the poor boy.

Before I could say no and send them away the door was open and Gai had swept in, leaving his shoes behind. I stared after him, watching the man catch sight of Naruto, faltered for a split second, before his smile was right back and he was shouting at the boy about his youth and connection to me.

I stared at them before inviting the other boys in quietly.

Lee said, "I didn't know you had other friends."

I stared at him blankly, giving a dry 'thanks' to cover the actual sting the comment made. Lee seemed to realize his mistake quickly and went to apologize before I cut him off.

"Come get dried off before you get sick. Have you eaten yet? Neji, would you like a blow dryer?"

The Hyuuga shook his head no while Gai dragged Lee into the kitchen to talk to Naruto, or something, leaving me to fetch towels.

I couldn't help but wonder why it was getting so loud lately.

* * *

Blood splattered across his shirt, adding more red to the already crimson clothe. A laugh erupted from his mouth, twisted with irritation and sadistic glee. There was a sickening slap when the body hit the only open area of the floor left.

"Hidan!" the last survivor shouted, one of the supposed higher ups. His life was a miracle. The injuries on the boy reflected on him, holes in his stomach and a slice through the neck.

"What the fuck do you want?" He demanded, some of the ecstasy fading, "Why aren't you dead yet you insufferable heretic?"

"Why?" he demanded, voice gargled with blood, "We were finally reaching peace.

"There's your answer. This place has become a shit hole full of weaklings. Shinobi are supposed to kill, anything less is fucking pathetic. If you can't fight, if you don't kill, I'll kill you instead, in the name of Jashin!"

"Enough of this Jashin!" he sounded desperate now, "A dead religion for a boy who wouldn't die, are you a glutton for irony? There is a reason all the others were destroyed! Cultist, sadists, all of them and you had to go and joi-"

He was cut off when Hidan stabbed himself in the side of the neck, satisfaction radiating off the boy just as much as anger.

"Don't talk about him like that you shit head."

* * *

A soft laugh emanated from the ginger of the trio, pushing his jaw into the palm it rested on. His eyes rose to his dark haired companion, watching some of the life return to his sunken cheeks.

"You always manage to find the most loyal followers," he commented, "I'm almost jealous."

The youth nodded, a tired smile melting into a genuine one. "He's a good kid. He's enough, for now."

A hand, more bone than skin, squeezed the ill gods shoulder. "You'll feel better after a few more sacrifices."

"I know, I know. Fuck this is a pain. Sometimes I'm fine, sometimes I'm… this. Now that Hidan is getting active it should lessen."

"Keiko is making good connections too," came the ginger, twirling a finger on the surface of the mirror. "I'll try contacting her soon. Peter thinks she's ready to hear why she's here now."

"Is she still bitter?" asked the least human looking of the trio.

There was purse of lips. "It's less bitter and more lonely. It's changing with her friends, but she had a big family before. "

"Her grieving is finished," the white haired man commented.

A smile crossed the ill gods face. "Gentlemen, I think it's time we had a chat with our little Lady Luck."

* * *

_There is no decision that we can make that doesn't come with some sort of balance or sacrifice. Simon Sinek_


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry for being so long, I lost my old laptop and only just got a new one.**

**I drew a picture of Keiko. The link is on my profile.  
**

**Reviews;**

**ewebster123:Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy this. I'll do my best to keep it up. **

**DulcetOwl:I would really like it if more people reviewed but as long as people are enjoying it that's good enough. Thank you for yours. That is Jashin, alongside the Shinigami and Kami. Later on we'll see Hogoromo as well but for now he's still off screen. **

**JBebe: Thank you very much, I always thought that that was a cool power. I don't know a whole lot about Domino but Scarlet Witch always seemed more like particularly violent telekenisis than probability control. That was actually borrowed from Jinx of the animated Teen Titans, of DC origins instead of Marvel. From the references I used Gai was called the Blue Beast in canon, which is admittedly pretty weird and I wasn't sure about it but hey, if the subs say.**

**Tsunade is definitely alive, I haven't changed that much. Keiko is the Last Senju in the same sense that Sasuke is the Last Uchiha. The only others who share their names are deserters and traitors respectively. **

**amgs: I'm happy you liked it. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint. **

**Collegegirl: Here's some more. **

**Countenance: Thank you! It's not soon but here it is!**

**Guest from May 17****th****: Thanks, here it is. **

**Furionknight:Here it is!**

* * *

I discovered, very quickly, that the only reason I had done so poorly with our first practice together was for reasons previously stated. I was lazy, I didn't exercise much. As soon as Gai got a hold of me that changed.

I hadn't known it before, or hadn't thought of it, but Senju were the inheritors of the 'Body'. Myself included. It gave them, us, incredible endurance and above average amounts of chakra. Once I began taking advantage of my natural abilities I discovered that the boys weren't that hard to keep up with. Within a month I could last longer than both of them in a run. I wasn't quite as fast as them, but I went longer.

It was amazing, I had never known I could be so durable until I was actually pushed for it. The Academy had done no such thing. Gai did. So maybe it was a good thing I was on his team, for my own sake.

And, of course, for the sake of Lee. I quickly discovered that Neji really was an awful, superior person. My dislike for him grew every time he put Lee down for his inability to beat him in a fight. Gai and I were always there to encourage him. Gai encouraged all of us, in all of our pursuits. As weird as he was he really did care, and he had to be the most encouraging person I had ever met.

When I told him that I had decided to specialize in ninjutsu instead of taijutsu, like my other two teammates, he had helped me get started, and taught me what little he knew. It was lucky that the both of us had lightning nature of some kind, or I wouldn't have had a clue how to even start transforming it. As it was I still ended up with a good amount of burns on my hands before I got a decent technique in that wasn't simply zapping someone with a few thousand volts. I had one good jutsu and some skill as a human Taser.

After that it was up to me to continue learning ninjutsu, mostly from my family scrolls. My great-grandfather had been a master of water, which left me with more of it than I knew what to do with. There was also a sword that he had used for electric combinations, one that was, for one reason or another, missing. The name sounded familiar but I wasn't sure where I had heard of the Raijin no Ken, the Sword of the Thunder God.

It would have come in handy on my first C-Rank.

* * *

"We need to talk to her soon."

"Calm yourself. And stop bouncing your leg, you look like a child."

"He always looks like a child."

"Fuck you, you old goblin!"

"We were getting along so well…."

* * *

The owner of the caravan looked utterly unimpressed with the four of us standing in front of him. I didn't blame him. While Neji looked perfectly professional and I was fine as far as ninja went Lee and Gai were, well, themselves.

There was nothing to be done about the already forming opinion, so I stood back, behind them all, with my chin tucked into the fur of my jacket. It was my favorite, soft and comfortable, with my clan symbol embroidered on the back. While there had been things we had done that no one would be proud of I was still glad to be a part of it.

"Five months of training and we get a mission like this." If you didn't know him you would never know that Neji was complaining.

"We're escorting people to the border, that's more than we've done before," I reminded him. Out of the corner of my eye Peter appeared. He liked to be around for special occasions.

"We shall do our best to protect you and your livelihood," Gai was declaring from the front before the merchants apparently decided they had heard enough and turned us towards the road. I stuck my chin into the soft fur of my collar, rocking back on my heels before setting off. I was nervous. This was the most important job we had been assigned so far and it was the first time I would see a world outside of the village's walls in over twelve years.

Anticipation and anxiety warred in side of my even as I knew it wasn't actually that big of a deal.

The situation was made better by Lee's being even more excited than I was, looking like he was going to jump right out of his skin and into orbit if we didn't get a move on before his energy caused some kind of aneurism.

If that's what an aneurism is. I've never been quite sure about that. Something in the brain? That's what it sounded like.

"Aren't you excited Keiko?" Lee asked, bouncing next to me like a puppy.

He had changed since we had started, shedding the more traditional clothing he wore in favor of a mimicry of Gai's suit. His hair, which had been long, was shorter now, curling upwards in the back and on the sides. He hadn't gotten to a bowl cut yet.

Yet.

I smiled over at him, nodding quickly.

"Yeah, it's going to be really fun to see what everything is like out here. Maybe we'll even have some free time on the way back to explore."

Lee's eyes shone with the prospect. "We shall surely see amazing sights, and perhaps witness Gai-sensei in a true battle."

"Oh," I laughed nervously, "I don't know if I want us to get into a fight just yet."

I really didn't want to get into a fight. That would end horribly. Senju or not I was still very much a softy, in spite of the Academy's attempts as desensitization. Those were lessons that I always, always failed. I just cared too much about the little animals they gave us to kill.

It was a miracle I wasn't a vegetarian.

"But if we fight we shall surely prove to Gai-sensei our youth!" Lee objected.

I shook my head fondly at Lee. His shine to Gai, his blatant hero worship, was amusing. Cute.

"We're twelve, I think that's proof enough," I said. The tall gates of Konoha disappeared behind us, over the horizon. We were on our way.

It was a good think we had been taught to camp in the Academy, because these merchants had no patience for children and didn't care at all about us unless we were helping them cross a river or removing road blocks. It was insulting really. We were kids, we didn't have to do all of those things. Technically all we had to do was make sure they got there alive with their merchandise intact. We didn't need to do anything beyond that.

And the matriarch! I had never had someone nitpick over me so much.

I should straighten my hair, I should pull it back I should wear more flattering clothing, and how would I ever find a good husband if I got scared 'playing' ninja, as if my name alone wouldn't have suitors falling over themselves in a few years to be omitted into one of the most legendary clans in the history of the Elemental Nations.

I would have been angrier if she hadn't started in on Neji too.

"Should have cut your hair," I teased in passing when we were changing our guarding positions.

Neji shot me a dirty look, one that I ignored in favor of looking at the Matriarch's Grandson. Sousuke if I wasn't mistaken. He kept looking at me.

I don't know if my hair or my stunning beauty.

I was banking on the former.

I was pretty, make no mistake, and there was no doubt in my mind I would grow up pretty too. But it was the kind of pretty that was accented by unusual features. Green eyes and silver hair were uncommon, even amongst the strange combinations that existed in this world.

The population was predominantly Asian looking, combinations beyond browns, blacks and occasional blonds. Most people who had something different were a part of a clan, or just lucky enough to have parents whose colors mixed oddly.

Everyone that we were escorting had plain lineage and common hair and eyes.

It was no wonder Sousuke stared.

That didn't make me like it anymore. I ducked my chin, walking further ahead until I couldn't see his eyes on me anymore. I could still feel it, but it was something at least.

I was so busy with ignoring Sousuke that I didn't notice that his eyes weren't the only ones on me.

On us.

* * *

Hidan was only doing it because he was bored. There was no other reasoning behind it. Not the fact that even immortals got hunger pains or the possibility that maybe he liked being out of elements that couldn't even seriously hurt him.

The reason he was working with the pathetic, weak highway men was simply because it fit his current whimsy, thank you very fucking much.

That changed when he saw the girl that was accompanying them. It wasn't her looks or her age or her headband. It was the fact that his rosary started heating up, scorching his chest the instant he laid eyes on her.

That could only mean one thing.

Jashin wanted her blood.

Forgetting the plan that the half-witted men he was now associated with and ignoring their puerile demands that he stop Hidan leapt out, shooting towards the girl a few years younger than him. She didn't even notice.

He noticed when a knee slammed into his side, sending him crashing into a tree.

From there it descended into the familiar, glorious chaos of battle.

Hidan let out a wild cheer and threw himself into the fray, his target locked on. The girls eyes had gone from dark green to a glowing shade, and all around her assailants were tripping on air, losing their pants and getting shocked if they got too close to her.

The seventeen year old shot in recklessly, not caring about possible pain he would endure. All the better. It wouldn't kill him.

The girl spun when he released a wild cheer, throwing her hands out. Brilliant green light exploded from her finger tips. It slammed into his chest, jarring him into falling on his back. He groaned, rolling on his side. That had been a bad kind of hurt.

The girl turned her back on him to avoid being stabbed by someone else, who was unfortunate enough to end up on the ground, smoking, while lightning danced across her forearms.

Hidan took advantage of her destraction to fling himself forwards. She turned and stumbled away enough to avoid being stabbed by his knife directly. It slice a thin line through her cheek, giving him just enough blood to be smeared across his tongue.

He gave a wicked laugh, watching the horror cross her face as his tongue swept out. So she knew what the symbol on his meant. Good, then she would know what would happen when he injested her blood.

Or what should have happened.

Instead of the familiar feeling of his gods power over taking him, the tingle of his skin altering and the flood of connection between sacrifice and preist something entirely different happen.

The world went completely blank.

Clearer than he'd ever heard it before his gods voice echoed next to him.

"Damn it Hidan."

_Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance on it.__– Hunter S Thompson. _


	9. Chapter 9

**And now, the answer to some questions. **

**Furionknight: Here you go! **

**Lurking Pheonix: I love Hidan! He doesn't get to talk all that much just yet. **

**Don't question it: Here's some more!**

**Turtlehoffmann2251: I'm so glad people like him, it makes things easier. **

**amgs: I got this cool new HP touchscreen, I've been dying for one forever. Thank you so much for your words, I'm glad you like it. It's not so much they see and hear them than it is that Hidan is aware of and gets instructions from Jashin. Keiko hasn't had anything yet. I haven't seen them but I am totally checking it out now. **

**JBebe: Thank you. I'm really looking forward to see how people react to the gods. I've been waiting to write this part for forever. **

**Guest from July 13th: Hidan has a habit of misinterpreting things. **

**Picas Lei-Fur: Here it is! **

**Guest from July 19th: Here it is. **

* * *

The world was dark. Or it should have been. There was no light, no source for the illumination that allowed me to see what I was.

And what I was seeing, I was sure I shouldn't have been.

It was Peter, standing in the middle of a pathway of what was either Sulfar or Carnotite. In rectangles.

I stared. To my side I could see Hidan standing next to me, looking not at my rabbit, but at the surrounding area with just as much confusion as me.

"What the fuck is wrong with your blood?" he asked suddenly, pink eyes snapped to green. I sunk into my collar, away from the insane cultist.

"Nothings wrong with my blood!" I defended sharply, frowning at him.

There was no sound made but Peter had our attention suddenly, and we bother were silent. The small white rabbit turned from us, showing off a fluffy tail, and started hopping along the trail. Exchanging equally bewildered glances Hidan and I followed him down the trail. There wasn't much else we could do, considering we were who knew where.

After a while, growing board, I sang under my breath.

"Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin down the bunny trail, hippity hop, Easters on its way. Bringing every girl and boy, Baskets full of Easter joy, things to make your Easter bright and gay."

As we went the temperature dropped until my breath was visible, each word dancing in the air before its cloud was shattered.

"What kind of lame ass song is that?" Hidan questioned, crossing his arms. He was younger than he was in the memories I had of the show, much younger. Given he had appeared in Shippuden it wasn't all the surprising. What was surprising was that he didn't look to horribly older than me, maybe five or six years. He was definitely taller, and his hair wasn't as neat as I remembered. It was short and spiked in fly away points, a little like mine.

"It's a fine song," I muttered even as I switched from children's tunes to Elton John, ignoring the funny looks Hidan continued to send my way.

"So goodbye Yellow Brick Road, where the dogs of society howl. You can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plough. Back to the howling old owl in the woods, hunting the horny back toad. Oh I've finally decided my future lies, beyond the Yellow Brick Road."

From around us, ending my song and scaring me witless, a voice intoned, "Your future is at the end of the road, yes."

I jerked, as did Hidan, and started looking around frantically. Still Darkness was all there was. Except further down the road, something was starting to come into view. A small something, to far for me to be able to see.

I hesitated, eyes darting around, before jogging to catch back up with Peter, who had been going ahead of us the entire time. I heard more than saw Hidan catch up with us, his sandals scuffing on the path.

What felt like forever and no time at all passed before we were standing in front of the building, which turned out to be nothing more than a colossal door.

It stretched into the dark sky, , revealing that it was not dark. It was simply empty. There was nothing for the light to touch so there was nothing for us to see, besides the pathway and the entrance. Curiously I knelt on the stone, sweeping my hand along the edge where it ended. There was nothing but air.

A shiver of fear crawled up my spine, wrapping around my throat.

Hidan apparently had no such problem for he wasted little time banging his fist on the ornately carved wood. Symbols I had never seen, scene's I could never understand, waltzed from one side to the other, spinning tails of humans and humanoids surrounding a great tree whose roots stretching impossibly far and whose branches were endless. The top of the tree split apart before merging in a twisting vortex that spun at the heavens, ending in an unopened bud.

The word left my mouth, realization following it before I could properly assess it. "Shinju."

Hidans fist connected once more, at the exact second I spoke the name of the Tree of Life. Light erupted from where he made contact, sprinting across the surface, igniting the figures and sending them in flurried motion. The older boy even took a step back, his rosary glowing with crimson. The images changed color like a fluorescent Christmas tree. Red chased white, white chased purple, purple chased red.

It was enough to make me dizzy.

The door creaked ominously before it started shaking, sinking into the nothingness bellow. It left behind its frame, shining with the same green light that my power did. Inside was a room, smaller than should have been possible with such a titanic door guarding it. Peter was standing inside, waiting for us.

Swallowing thickly I stepped up by Hidan, my heart pounding. In a simultaneous movement we stepped forwards, drawn in by a force I could not name.

* * *

Inside the door was smaller than he thought it would be. He didn't know what was going on, or where they were, or even who the girl shaking in her coat next to him was. He did know that for a door that high the ceiling should have been more than three feet above his head.

He looked around, at the circular table engraved with his gods insignia, at the three walls around, each one with a door of their own. There were three chairs on one side of the table, and two smaller ones on the side in front of them. The rabbit had taken residence in a basket in the corner between the red door and the black one and was watching them.

High above their heads golden lanterns glowed, smoke falling out of them like those used in some ceremonies. The scent of Lotus, Pinapple, Morning Glory, and something else he couldn't identify was almost over powering. He turned in a slow circle, trying to figure out what the last one was.

"Acacia."

The familiar, power heavy voice cut in, breaking his thoughts. Hidan heard the girl stifle a shriek while he twisted on his heel, dropping in an instant to his knees.

In the chairs that had once been unoccupied were now three men. Two he didn't care about, the one on the far right was his only concern.

Jashin met his kneeling with a smile on his youthful face, all pale skin and gaunt bones. Dark hair fluttered restless around his shoulders, tracing his chin. Hidan had never seen him so perfectly, heard him so clearly. The god visited him in dreams and suggestions, words on the wind, messages painted in the blood he spilled.

Now he sat before him in what was not a chair but a throne, decorated with lotus's that dripped red from their chores, winding vines through blood and metal circles and triangles.

"It's called Acacia, that last flower we're burning," his god continued. A scythe leaned against the back of his chair, shining.

"The immortal soul," intoned one of the others, a gargoyle with over grown fangs that held a knife in his mouth and long white hair split by a pair of horns. Hidan squinted at him, wondering who this was. Jashin wouldn't keep the company of ordinary people, surely.

"Holy hell," the girl hissed through a limp jaw. Hidan rolled his eyes, utterly unimpressed. Why Jashin was interested in her, why he was looking at her instead of him, the seventeen year old didn't understand.

A laugh drew his eyes to the final party, one in possession of long red hair and what looked like flowers crawling under his skin. Daffodils, Lily's, Bouvardia, Chrysanthemums, twisted and disappeared. It was enough to give the boy a migraine. He looked back at his own deity, sharp questions quivering on his tongue.

He was beat to the punch by a soft, bordering hysterical voice from his left.

"What is this!?"

* * *

Panic was choking me, confusion, assumptions, hopes, fears clawed at my heart, threatening to drown me in them. I was dead, only I wasn't, and now after I had had blood spilled I was standing in front of at least one god of death, probably two, and a third I had no clue about.

Needless to say I was scared out of my mind.

The one on the far right I was positive was Hidan's god, Jashin, who I only knew gave out immortality and asked for sacrifices.

The middle one was the Shinigami, who I'd seen in the show and in painting in my house hold. He matched those figured perfectly. He was sharp and terrifying, no doubt a creature who was capable of death, of instigating it. With low brows and every rib showing he was disturbing to a level I hadn't know existed. His chair, made up of skills and knives and crawling flames, helped nothing.

The only one who didn't look at least a little scary was the on the far left. His hair was red, long, falling over traditional summer robes. His eyes were softer somehow, life bloomed beneath his skin, disappearing as soon as it came.

He was the one that scared me the most.

I knew who the other two were. But this last one? I had no clue about. That made him the worst.

"I don't think she likes you," Jashin observed, leaning forwards in his horrible, creepy chair to look at the Left.

Left seemed to take little offense at his statement, which didn't help. "I guess not. Really though, it's you who got her into this situation. You're in charge of those deaths that move on to be reborn. "

His words, said so casually, shattered any other thoughts I had. My head snapped to the right so fast I could feel my vertebrae pop. Jashin met my eyes before heaving a long, drawn out sigh.

"Now she's gonna hate me instead. Thanks."

The ginger gave a smile so cheerful and innocent you would never see the darker flash in his eyes if you weren't looking.

"You're welcome."

The voice of the Shinigami should have been muffled by the hilt of the blade, a tanto, in his mouth. Instead he was remarkably clear.

"Her fondness will fall for us all if we do not get this meeting underway."

Jashin rolled his ruby eyes. "Business is all you think about," he accused. He shifted in his seat, dark clothing settling around him in an elegance I had never seen before. They all held it, but it was especially apparent when one of them moved. "You're not wrong this time though. Keiko, or would you prefer Jordan?"

I shook my head, trying to keep it together and take in as much information as I could. "Keiko is fine."

"Keiko," he continued, "You've been chosen by us for a very special purpose."

Hidan made an offended sounding "_Her_?"

I huffed, insulted. I mean, I didn't disagree with him. But he didn't have to say it like that.

"Do you know who we are?" Left interrupted suddenly, earning a glare from the other diety. Or I assumed that was what they were. If my old cousin was there she would have had an aneurism.

I shifted uncomfortably, aware that every eye in the room was on me. "Everyone but you."

His smile was kind. "I am the god of the living. Kami."

"Oh," I said. "So. Life, death and what?" I looked from Kami to Shinigami to Jashin.

"See, this is why we need to talk to people more. No one even knows that I'm in charge of reincarnation," he said.

I tensed. That was me. "Excuse me?" I asked, at the same time Hidan uttered a confused, "Huh?"

"You're the god of punishment and war!" He objected, "Sacrifices to you are converted into life eternal!"

"Yes," Jashin agreed smoothly, "I'm that too. Now. It used to be the three of us were in perfect Balance. Kami kept the lives, Shinigami took the lives, and I ended the after lives to begin them anew. That changed some time ago, after that damn princess fucked it all up."

"Princess?" we chorused.

I continued, "You mean Kaguya?"

Her name was enough to make all three grimace. "Yes," Kami said, "Her. When she took the fruit of the Tree of Life and released the chakra held inside it to all the rest of the world, she also broke apart the balance that kept everything in place. Before her reign, we three lived in harmony. All of our worlds, the world of the living, the world of the dead, and the world of the recrafting, had an equal number of souls in it, always. They were balanced."

"When the princess stole the fruit the Shinji she cut the pathways between reincarnation and death. Without access to the souls of the dead my world started lessening rapidly in population and began crumbling. By extension so did the other ones. Life fell into chaos, death got over crowded and my place is practically empty now. New souls started coming in when mine were out of the question and now everything is falling apart."

"That was why he created the Jashinist cult," Shinigami informed the pair, "Because of their connection to him all sacrifices they make go directly to his world, helping to even things out. It worked well enough when there were hundreds wandering the world, but the religion has died down to only a very few now. These worlds are coming to an end."

"So what, I'm supposed to fix that?" I asked, threatening hysteria. Everything I heard I absorbed but everything I understood scared the shit out of me. I couldn't do that. I was a kid, I was tiny, I was-

"Nope."

Not going to have the fate of reality on my shoulders.

"Naruto is. You and Hidan here are just going to work for us for a bit. Hidan will keep my world from being destroyed in the next few years, you too if you want, and you're going to do what you can to keep things on track. "

I squinted at Jashin. It was Hidan who voiced my thoughts.

"What track?"

"The track that will lead to Kaguya's ultimate distruction," Kami said, "That's what track. Hidan, you are a Jashinist, so you are a valuable person already. Keiko, you are going to act as our hands in direct matters, and a guide for your friends."

I had to ask, "Why me?"

The three looked at each other before those on either side sat back, leaving the most frightening in appearance to explain things.

"I called in a favor and got you on loan," he said. At my confused, and no doubt incredulous, face scrunch, he continue, "You lived in a world separate from all three of ours, which makes it perfect for you to work for us. Your presence will not hurt the balance the way it would if we gave all the information you have to someone created into this cycle. It didn't hurt that luck already had a hand on your shoulder. We were able to increase that hold into what you now can do."

"So, all I have to do is make sure that Naruto can beat Kaguya?" I clarified, trying to wrap my mind around everything. It was all crazy.

"Just push him a little, he'll take it from there," Kami encouraged. I had no doubt about that. In fact I had seen it with my own two eyes.

"Okay," I said slowly, "Okay. This is crazy. You're crazy. And I'm crazy for agreeing to this." Not that I had much of a choice.

"You always have a choice," Jashin said suddenly, staring straight at me. I froze, aware suddenly that he could read my mind. "Only when you think loudly."

I tried to quiet my thoughts.

Kami laughed. "Don't worry. We'll respect your privacy. Now, You two have a fight to finish, I believe."

I looked at Hidan who was staring hard at me. "Um. Yeah."

"Hidan won't hurt you," Jashin promised, throwing a meaningful look to his underling. "Right?"

The albino sunk under his gaze, still on his knees. "Yeah, I won't." He didn't sound too thrilled with the order.

"We'll send you back then," Shinigami said. "If you need to see us, send a prayer, or tell Peter."

"Who is Peter," I interrupted.

Kami smiled. "Peter is one of my subjects. He will watch over and serve you. Is that all you want to know?"

I shook my head. I wanted to know a whole hell of a lot more. "For now." I didn't think I could think a whole lot more that day. I couldn't even think of everything I'd already learned. It was too much to take in at once, I would need time.

Kami lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

The world exploded in shards of light.

* * *

_It's always best to start at the beginning – and all you do is follow the Yellow Brick Road._


	10. Chapter 10

**Jbebe: It's going to be one wild wide for a second life with three gods and a murderous priest around her, let alone Naruto and all his shit. So we'll have to see where it goes. **

**Last Assassin's Shadow: Thank you, I hope that I explained sufficiently for the time being. I wanted to add a new spin to the works. **

**Enbi: I love Hidan too, he's so much fun! **

**turtlehoffman2251: lol, thank you. Peter is one of my favorite details. **

**Puri: Thank you so much! I tried really hard on this one so it makes me very happy to know that it was well received. Is this soon enough?**

* * *

When the shower of sparks left my vision I was standing right where I had been, staring at Hidan, who stared at me. The skeletal marks that should have over taken his skin were absent in the presence of my blood.

For a long minute we just stared at each other, I think both of us trying to comprehend if that had actually happened. Then, something weird happened. Hidan turned and drove his knife into the neck of the nearest bandit.

My mouth fell open. I felt sick at the sight of the blood.

Neji snapped my name and I jerked, turning to see him fending off four at once. I focused on the earth, on their pants, raising roots and dropping trousers. All four fell forwards, into Neji's blurring arms. I spun to see Lee, finding him fighting well but having trouble with a sword wielding miscreant. I focused on the metal, flashing energy at it in electric sparks. I could feel the drain as the sword spontaneously rusted into dirt.

The man's shocked face was pounded in with a small fist.

The next three that tried to lunge at me were met with inexplicably present rocks and a human Taser. It was about all I could do at that point, but I was so close to mastering an actual technique I could use I could taste it.

I was pretty sure I was going to be tasting dirt soon, but it turned out that that wasn't the case. Hidan kept stabbing people and collecting blood until he started his actual ritual. I looked away from that, retreating to the cliental. I didn't need to see him stab himself.

Lee wasn't so knowledgeable as too looked away. I could see his skin blanch. The poor boy looked sick.

We had been 'desensitized' in the academy, made to kill small animals in place of the people that we would one day steal the life from. That didn't do a whole lot to compare to actual people.

Neji was made of stronger stuff than we two, for when the corpses his the ground and Hidan along with them he was the one to start hustling everyone along. Gai was watching the Jashinist with sharp eyes the his normal jovial nature often hidden.

"Come on," I murmured, taking Lee's hand in mine and tugging him. He fell into step, swaying until he found rhythm. As we passed I glanced at Hidan, who looked like he was in the middle of some kind of creepy, sexual euphoria. I scrunched up my face. I would see him again, no doubt about it.

I didn't think I was going to like it.

"What happened back there?" Neji asked once we were clear. The accusation in his voice was clear.

I bristled. "I didn't say anything to him, you tell me with your all seeing eyes."

Neji glared harshly, making me cringe back into my collar.

"Keiko did nothing," Lee jumped in to my defense.

"Then why did he turn on his comrades without warning?" he demanded.

Lee opened his mouth to responder before he stopped, confusion written on his face. He looked at me I looked at Neji. I didn't think I wanted them to know. I didn't think they would believe me.

"It doesn't matter," Gai proclaimed suddenly from in front of us. He turned around, flashing a bright smile. "We won our victory and we shall complete this mission, or run fifty, no, one hundred laps around the village!"

I smiled. Most people would think he was crazy, but Gai had been going easy on us since we started, upping the regime only where we were ready to meet such a challenge. He hadn't even brought out training weights yet.

It was interesting to see, and many over looked it, but Gai was actually very smart. He had a hard time with names and faces was the only real problem, when it came to training and getting stronger he was a genius in his own way. As much as he pushed us and himself it wasn't enough that it would cause any damage to our bodies while still getting us stronger as a rate I hadn't known was possible.

"Can we go already?" The client asked testily, "We're moving so slow we'll never get home before dark."

I straightened up, tugging my sleeves down further. This jacket was getting too small now that I was heading into growth spurt territory. Amongst my confusing thoughts I made a mental note to get a new one when we got back to the village.

With Lee's hand still in mine we walked forwards, along the path, bringing up the rear of our company.

I didn't miss the suspicious look Gai gave me.

Or the anxiety it caused to twist in my chest.

* * *

By the time we finished getting our client home it was dark, leaving us with no other choice than to book a hotel for the night. The boys would share one room while I was given my own, a rare luxury in kunoichi life. We had been warned repeatedly in classes that we needed to be prepared to disregard modesty and privacy around our teammates.

I was grateful that I wouldn't need to just yet. It was one thing to have a sleepover with Lee, it was another to be stuffed in the same space as Lee, Neji and Gai.

I could already hear someone's horrible snoring when I stepped out of the bathroom, hair dripping a dark patch down my back. I was ready to curl under the comforter and sleep my thoughts away before I was interrupted by a horribly familiar voice.

"How'd you get a fancy hotel like this?"

* * *

Hidan sat on the springy bed, bouncing a few times while he waited for the girl to come out of the bathroom. He'd slipped into the suite just after she had gone in and made himself comfortable on the bed, softer than anything he'd slept on in years. The place was clearly high priced, way too high for the genin the team obviously was made of.

Aside from their jonin they were small, and weak, except the blind kid. Even Jashin's Chosen was pathetic on the battle field. She hadn't done anything he would deem useful, not an ounce of blood had been spilled by her.

When she stepped out of the bathroom in her pajamas it wasn't hard to see why. She was tiny. It was harder to tell in the lined jacket she had hanging on the door knob but in just pajama's she was easily the smallest girl Hidan had ever seen.

He watched her push back her hair, the first he'd ever seen lighter than his own, before he opened his mouth with every intention of scaring the shit out of her.

"How'd you get a fancy hotel like this?"

He expected a shriek, he hoped for a scream. All he got was a whole body freeze and wide green eyes. Hidan scowled. She looked like a frightened rabbit, which would have been fine if she was a few years older, but like this it was just boring.

The teenager crossed his legs and propped his chin on one fist, the elbow on the other end of his arm holding in the crook of his knee. It took too long for her to reply, and when she did her voice was much softer than the hysterical one he had been subjected to hours before.

"I offered to pay for it," she explained, shrinking in on herself. He remembered her doing that before too, sticking her chin past the high collar of her jacket.

"Where'd you get that kind of money?" he worked hard jobs for his shit and he couldn't afford this, no way. It was stupid, money was the center of everything and more often than not people killed just to get their greedy, heathen hands on it.

How the boy loathed the concept.

"Inheritance," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "Why are you here?" There was a note of accusation in her voice that made Hidan's mouth twitch towards being a crescent. At least she had some kind of back bone.

"I felt like it," He said, flopping back spread-eagle onto her bed.

The girl took a number of steps forwards, each one detectible only to a shinobi's ears. "I would rather you left."

He glared at her, successfully getting a squeak for the amount of force he put behind it. His glare evaporated into a wicked smile. "I'll stay."

The girl looked from him to the door, her thoughts painted clearly across her face. In an instant he had a knife to her throat, just above the jugular. She froze, green eyes growing wide before they narrowed and her arms crossed, defensive.

It seemed the his initial putting her on alert was falling.

"He said you weren't going to hurt me. So you can't. Now please get out of my room," she said, her voice much clearer.

Hidan had to wonder what was up with her. He spun the knife around, digging it back into his sleeve. It was starting to get dull, he would have to replace it soon. Maybe pocket something off his next sacrifices.

The girl, he decided, was weird.

"You're kind of a bitch," he observed.

She jerked in indignation. "For not wanting some creep that was ready to kill me sleeping in the same room?" She demanded.

When she put it that way…

Hidan hopped off the bed with out warned, forcing her to back away or get stepped on.

"Fine, fine, I'll leave. But I want to know, what the fuck made Jashin Choose you?"

Her brows furrowed. "You heard him as clear as me. I don't know anything more than that."

Ruby eyes narrowed. "You're sure?"

Green hardened in returned. "Yes."

The boy gave a lazy shrug, pretending he wasn't puzzled and annoyed that he hadn't been given the trust of his god the way this girl had.

"If you fuckin say so," he sauntered over to the window, shoving it open. The thin curtains, decorative and embroidered, flapped around him, wrapping around his arms as if to hold him there. He pulled out of the silk embrace, stomping his foot on the sill.

The girl watching him, he could feel her eyes boring into his back until he made the leap. From the street that he landed so neatly upon he watched her slam the window shut again and yank the curtains closed. Smiling in personal satisfaction Hidan wandered on, to the forest where he could make camp since he wasn't getting a hotel room. He didn't look back as he trecked through the dark streets, all too aware of the eyes on his hair, his eyes, and the thinly worn shirt that hung to his shoulders. He didn't care about them, and he didn't need to see the girl.

He would visit her again, after all.

* * *

"_I imbue this place with my essence, every stone and every drop. My visit will do wonders for the flowers."_

_Aly propped her chin on her hand. "So does manure," she observed._

_-Kyprioth and Alaine, Tamora Pierce_


	11. Chapter 11

**This is just going to be a quick one because I need to get something out for this story. **

**Reviews; **

**Wedylai: I adore Hidan, I'm having so much fun with him. **

**JBebe: Yeah, pretty much. Hidan is a stalker and Neji is a self-possessed dick. Poor Keiko is going to have trouble in the future. **

**immortal chord: Thank you very much! I'm actually super proud of the first chapter!**

* * *

When morning dawned I had barely slept at all. With Hidan's late night visit I was too paranoid to lay down and let myself fall into unconsciousness. It was awful. Insomnia was nothing new to me but I didn't like the anxiety induced variety. I didn't like any type as a matter of fact.

The boys, when they came to join me for breakfast in the hotels dining room, looked much more well rested. The food was good but I wasn't in a particularly hungry frame of mind. I at least had an excuse of 'I ate before you got here' instead of just actually facing the concern and demand of two thirds of my companions.

I loved them, honest, and it made me feel warm and happy when they worried, but I also felt guilty when they worried. They were too good of people for that when it was just sleep deprivation and a stupid boy.

I sat quietly through breakfast, which really only featured Lee and Gai talking while Neji drank tea and watched with disinterest. It was a nice morning, something I could get used to waking up to, with these important people around me. Something warm settled in my chest, something light as a feather.

Friends, I decided, were truly wonderful things.

Even when you were dropping cash for them to sleep comfortably, it wasn't so bad when you had enough to spare, the way I did. Senju, you see, was a rich clan for many years. Even during our down fall and extinction we remained one of the most well-known families in the world. Our name was spread far, our business' were many and profitable.

We had a number of shops and restaurants, properties that were rented, and a clan full of ninja gave an average of ten percent of mission pay back to the family vaults in a sort of personal tax. I had only a small amount of control over the workings of these things, being my young age, and most were left to me autonomous aside from paying their dues to, well, to me I suppose.

Now that I was legally of age (by which I mean I was old enough to earn money and kill and die and whatever else my village wants) I was expected to take a more active roll, and support them as much as they supported me. I was to manage the finances and pay the taxes instead of just letting the debt drive up. The only reason nothing had been reclaimed yet was because of my name. Now I was going to have to start paying them back.

Due to my own stinginess and a caution for money left over from my last life I wasn't going to pay it all off at once.

After careful inspection of the finances of my lands I had decided that paying back in large increments over the next few years. I was going to get out of debt, quickly, but I was not going to blow all of my money at once. Not when there was a number of disasters in the future for me to save up for.

I withheld a sigh on the way out, my mind turning to the future. I was no good at long term planning, I never had been and I doubted I ever would be, so I didn't bother with making one. I would get stronger, get faster, learn to protect myself and my friends from the coming times of turbulence. Everything else…

Let the chips fall where they may.

We walked through the town, a big one with a number of shops and a large hill rising in the south with a sort of castle sitting atop it. People of all walks of life gathered there, congregated in multi colored crowds and plenty of numbers. Plenty of street performers were there as well, dancing and playing music of all sorts.

I smiled as we passed a particularly talented group, heart ache striking me with such ferocity it almost tripped. It hurt. They reminded me so much of a dream I had, a life time ago. The lifelong desire to play, to make music, to make people happy. I had left it behind with the Shamrock Truck.

Or so I thought.

Watching the strings move and the drums beat, their pounding resonating in my heart, I wondered just how true that was.

* * *

When we got back I found Naruto sitting inside the guard house.

He was sleeping, curled up against the door that let into my home. The Guard House was one of two that would let people into the compound, a small building with unused benches along the walls and a desk at one end, in front of the door that let into the main street. It was like those boxes you leave butterfly pavilions through, so you don't take a pretty things with you to the outside world.

I knelt down by the boy's side and gave him a light shake. When he groaned and curled into a tighter ball I shook my head and fondly and tried again, with his name this time.

Blue eyes flickered open, clashing with green. For a minute he didn't respond. When he did it was sitting bolt-up, his eyes alive with joy.

I almost fell on my butt when he threw his skinny arms around me, clinging to me tightly. I put my hand on his back, patting him softly. The child was affection starved and very touchy feely whenever he got the chance to be, not that I was very different. Orphans seemed to have that in common.

"Hey there, kiddo. Miss me much?" I teased, easing back from him.

His teeth threatened to blind me when he grinned at me, joy coming off of him in physical waves. Sometimes I forgot how ridiculously cute this kid was. He was like a puppy, excitable and adorable beyond reason.

"You were gone forever!" He whined, throwing himself onto my legs.

I snorted softly. "Child, it was a few days at most. And I came back. How long were you here?"

He shrugged, looking around us. "Dunno. A while I guess."

I sighed, idly petting his spiky blond hair. It was soft, like a baby duck. A puppy with baby duck hair. I giggled to myself, something near hysterical. I really needed to get some sleep, before I lost my mind completely.

"Come on," I encouraged, shooing him to his feet, "I'll feed you. You wanna stick around for tonight too?"

He nodded rapidly, no longer as reserved about the idea as he once had been. Sometimes, he got super shy, finicky, and I had to draw him out of his shell like Lee usually did me.

"Good," I patted his head and unlocked the door to the inside. We went in, trees leaned down to greet the both of us. They adored Naruto, with his cheery demeanor and his adoration for plants and their life. He was more responsible for their upkeep than I was, if I'm being honest. Those trees would protect him with their lives if it came to it, that was how much they loved him.

With the leaves brushing our cheeks and the twigs tugging at our clothes we made our way along the winding path, trees and buildings bordering the dirt to either side. The compound was as much designed for aesthetic as it was for functionality. The trees protected and offered shade and pretty things, fruit in the summer and autumn and flowers in the spring.

It was pretty, and I loved it for all it was empty. The only sounds were those that came from the animals that shared the compound with me.

Naruto took my hand, prompting me to look back at him. He faltered, got ready to pull back before I squeezed his hand and tugged him along. He was really too cute for his own good.

I was going to get cavities from him if I wasn't careful.

* * *

"_People always call it luck when you've acted more sensibly than they have. "_

― _Anne Tyler_


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, I'll answer reviews later.**

* * *

It wasn't hard to find a guitar once I was back. It was even less hassle to buy it, get it tuned, and start playing.

The difficulty began when my fingers landed on the string.

I was spoiled by my memories, by the knowledge of what it should have sounded like when I pulled that first string. The sound came off warbled and horrible, the rhythm I tried to put behind it was totally lost. My heart fell down into my stomach.

It hurt. Music had been a huge passion in my life before, and ever since I had been revived I hadn't thought to take it up again. I was either busy or sad, and sad was not progressive. I had never forgotten my love of music but it was just so far away. A life time passed, one that I normally did little to think about. In fact I went out of my way to avoid thinking of what I had lost.

What I didn't have.

It wasn't worth it to stay held up about that, I had more than just those people in the regular world to mourn. I was trying, desperately, to learn to move on with my life.

I had been afraid that music would keep me from doing it.

Now I realized exactly how much I had missed my passion. And still did, seeing as I couldn't play for shit.

The guitar was a magnificent piece of equipment, beautifully crafted by expert hands with a perfectly shaped neck and the best acoustics I had ever heard.

So the problem really was in my playing.

It was a major blow to my pride, a horrible blow. I set the instrument down after half an hour before I got too frustrated in myself. I was so good before, and my hands were a hundred times more dexterous than they had been.

So what was the problem?

I sat there, staring at the guitar, for hours. Until small feet pattered on the wood outside my room and a familiar voice called my name. Naruto was back from school.

"Come in," I ordered, reaching out to pluck a few stings in quick succession. That at least sounded okay.

Naruto pushed the screen aside, poking his head inside to see what I was doing. When his eyes landed on the guitar his brows pinches together in confusion. Ninja were not known to double as musicians.

The little blond boy, who was still little despite my constant provision of food, didn't look away from the instrument as he lowered himself to the floor. I had been meaning to get it redone. Put in thick carpet, maybe with bowling alley designs. I had enough money I could change it whenever I wanted.

"What is that?" Naruto asked, squinting at my new purchase.

I smiled a little at his obliviousness. He was wholly focused on two things. Ninja, and pranks. He had no room in his head for anything else.

"It's a guitar. You play music on it by pulling on the strings," I explained. I picked it up and pulled it into my lap before started to pluck a few cords. It just sounded so _wrong_.

Naruto seemed to think otherwise as he broke into a wide grin and scooted close, trying to see more clearly.

"That's so cool! Teach me!" he demanded. I laughed and little.

"I don't know if a guitar is right for you. It's a little… tame," that was definitely not the right word but it was all I could think of. Guitars just didn't seem like Naruto's thing. I'm not sure why, it just doesn't seem to be anything like the bright ,brilliant little boy.

My long dead brother had something that was a little more like him though…

"Come with me," I ordered out of nowhere, standing suddenly.

While he looked confused, and a good bit weary, my little friend rose obediently and trailed after me. Out of my room, out of my house, down the street and into the abode of one of my many, many dead cousins. It had a habit of raiding their houses whenever I needed something, or using them for general storage. As a dead person myself I was relatively sure that they wouldn't mind what was doing.

That is to say, pulling out a trumpet.

Personally, I never cared much for them. It was mostly my preference for strings and percussion that kept me away from woodwind and brass in general.

Trumpets, while not my favorite, were something I still knew well. Ish.

They were loud and cheery and full of energy, required a lot of breath too. Perfect for the boy following me.

I thrust the instrument into his hands and pointed to mouth piece. "Push your tongue here and blow as hard as you can."

Naruto got confused.

"What?"

I merely stared at him, expectant. He had perfectly good hearing, I didn't need to repeat myself for him. It took a minute before he obeyed, somewhat wearily. His hold was totally wrong, but the sound that came out was an explosion.

It sounded more like a fog horn than a trumpet.

Funny, I'd thought that sound only came from a tuba.

Naruto almost dropped the brass in his surprise, stared wide eyed at the creation. I watched him bring the trumpet back to his mouth and repeat the experiment, once, twice, thrice.

I would make a musician out of him yet.

* * *

The sun was warm on my back, heating through the rabbit fur lining. It was a sleepy type of heat, one that melted my muscles into liquid and pooled wonderful relaxation into my core.

There was a soft pressure on my lower back from Peter, who had shown up some time ago, and seemed content to lay there, curled up on the soft fabric of my jacket. I was going to get a new on, maybe something with a hood. White hair had a habit of sticking out in the middle of forests.

My eyes were closed, I was totally at peace.

The sweet smell of grass broken beneath my body was interrupted by a fragrance of Acacia. And pineapple.

I hate pineapples.

"I was having fun," I mumbled, opening my eyes to find myself on the floor of a room I hadn't seen in two weeks. Or that was what I expected to open my eyes to. It was, instead, a bit different.

The room was pretty, in some ways. A circle around a tree in the middle, thick red carpeting had replaced the nice green of grass. Intricate furniture, webbed in silver, surrounded me.

Lounging in a long couch with one end raised high than the other was an irritatingly familiar face, one of three that had been present when Hidan had tasted my blood. He was smiling, looking something awful smug.

I sat up, frowning at Jashin as much as I dared. A God of Death was a bad thing to have as an enemy.

"I'm more of a merchant of souls, really," he declared, flapping his hand in my direction. My skin started crawling. I had forgotten the whole mind reading thing.

I hated that more than pineapples.

"Sorry," Jashin said, sounding anything but.

"Merchant of Souls," I tried to get back on track, "What do you want?"

"We didn't get to talk much last time. I wanted to make up for that now," he explained easily, With a wave of his hand another chair appeared, over stuffed and marshmallow like. I squinted at it before taking a seat.

I almost slipped right off again.

"What do you want to talk about?" I quizzed irritably.

Jashin smiled a bit. "You must have a lot of questions," he guessed.

I thought about it for a minute before shaking my head. I had run over most of them on our way back, worked out with the information he'd given me before.

"You pretty much explained everything before, right? There's not a whole lot more for you to say. The rest is for me to do."

Jashin gave me a very odd look before he nodded a bit. "Yes. That's right."

The absolute panic I had felt had faded away by now, leaving me with exasperation and annoyance at being dragged in without my consent. That was all.

"You said I could send people to your mid-after-life, thing, how do you mean?" I asked after a second.

Jashin thought about it for a minute. "You saw how Hidan sends me people before, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"He is connected with me, and by consuming the blood of others he connects me to them by proxy. When we are all connected any damage done to one with be done to all. Because I am a god and Hidan, as my serf, is Immortal, neither of us takes permanent harm. The other, however, will be killed and their soul sent directly to my realm until the time comes for me to release them back into the arms of babes."

I nodded slowly. "If I were going to send them to you," As a ninja I would kill, no doubt about it, "Would I have to do it in the same way?"

Jashin's eyes were calculating as he sized me up. I was not a fan of death, I did not want to kill but it was necessary, it was going to happen no matter what I might as well help things stay balanced while I was doing it. There was no sense wasting a good soul, right?

I thought I might throw up.

"Yes," he said at last, "You would be."

I hummed softly, thinking it over for a long time. The pros, the cons, what it would mean and how it would look. There were so many things I needed to think of now that I hadn't before. So much that it was starting to make my brain hurt.

"I'll get back to you."

_You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from – Cormac McCarthy_


End file.
